Our coddled public school teachers

May 15, 2013

Letter writer Mel Novit says that he and his wife are both retired teachers (“Retired teachers,” Voice of the People, May 13). He complains that House Speaker Michael Madigan’s plan to save the teacher pension system from insolvency is “unconscionable.”

In writing his letter, Novit let slip one key reason the teacher pension system is in such sad shape: His wife retired after only 33 years. If she started work at 22, she retired at 55. That is way too young in an era where women routinely live to be 90.

My wife, by contrast, will be lucky to retire at 70. And even then, her Social Security benefits will fall below the average pension payout for our coddled public school teachers.